Fluidic zero-point power and propulsion units

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are devices which provide a practical means of extracting energy from the electromagnetic zero-point energy which permeates the universe. This is done by exploiting the Casimir-van der Waals&#39; forces to accelerate a fluid through the device and exhaust it with a higher velocity and energy than that with which it entered. This kinetic energy gained by the fluid may then be used to do work, such as spin a turbine for power generation, or provide thrust for direct propulsion. These devices do not consume fuel nor any non-renewable resources during operation and they are capable of generating significantly more energy than they require to start or to be manufactured.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority benefit under 35 USC 119(e) from Provisional Application No. U.S. 61/850,343, “Zero-point power, propulsion, and catalysis units,” filed Feb. 13, 2013 and which is, in part, incorporated herein.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX

Not applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to energy producing devices which accelerate a fluid through the exploitation of Casimir-van der Waals forces (“Casimir-vdW forces”).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Quantum field theory holds that the free space vacuum holds an infinite electromagnetic energy since each point in space may have an electromagnetic energy no less than the sum of one-half of the products of Planck's constant (h) and all frequencies of electromagnetic radiation possible at that point. This is often called the zero-point energy of that point in space. This zero-point energy usually does not directly affect the movement of objects since it is normally equally balanced on all sides of an object. However, there are instances where boundary conditions result in an imbalance in these energies and a net force results. This is known most popularly as the Casimir effect. or Casimir force, for H. B. G. Casimir who postulated this effect in 1948 after he and D. Polder examined London-van der Waals forces in light of the then new quantum electrodynamics (“QED”) field theory.

The work of Casimir was extended and made more general in 1954 by E. M. Lifshitz who developed the theory to apply to real dielectric materials and include temperature effects. In 1961, Lifshitz along with I. E. Dzyaloshinskii and L. P. Pitaevskii further generalized this work to account for situations where the intervening material between two boundaries was not a vacuum and where the boundaries could be different dielectrics. This work also postulated that under certain circumstances, instead of the normally attractive force, a repulsive force could be attained. In 2009, J. N. Munday, F. Capasso, and V. A. Parsegian demonstrated that, in accordance with this postulate, indeed for certain systems where the intervening medium is a fluid with an electric permittivity intermediate to that of the other two boundaries, in this experiment bromobenzene between silica and gold, a repulsive, instead of an attractive, force is obtained.

Until 1974, the Casimir effect was treated solely based upon the electric permittivity of the interacting materials. In that year, T. H. Boyer included magnetic permeability. He postulated that a perfectly conducting plate separated from a perfectly magnetic plate by a vacuum would give a repulsive force seven-eighths that of the normal attractive Casimir force between two perfectly conducting plates. This work was later extended and generalized by O. Kenneth and others to include real materials.

A major question regarding the practical use of the seemingly too good to be true Casimir force to do work and produce power was whether or not this could be done without violating thermodynamics or conservation laws. This was answered in 1993 by D. C. Cole and H. E. Puthoff when they showed that it was possible to extract energy from the omnipresent zero-point energy through the Casimir-vdW force and to do so irreversibly without violating the laws of thermodynamics. In 1999, F. Pinto showed a theoretical mechanism utilizing the variation (or “tuning”) of the permitivitty of at least one boundary for a Casimir-force driven engine that did not violate thermodynamic nor conservation laws.

Casimir-vdW forces are only substantial at very small dimensions (well under a micrometer). This has been a significant impediment to their observation and quantification. In fact, the Casimir force was not convincingly demonstrated until a 1997 experiment by S. K. Lamoreaux. Furthermore, the “classical” demonstration of the Casimir effect (between two metal plates) was not successfully demonstrated until a 2002 experiment by G. Bressi and others.

Today, Casimir-vdW forces are understood to arise due to differences in the pressures exerted upon different surfaces of an object arising from finite differences in the infinite energies from the sea of vacuum fluctuations in the vicinity of the object. These vacuum fluctuations are particle-antiparticle pairs which pop in and out of existance and are necessary for the propagation of the electromagnetic field. However, while these quantum fluctuations are the actual source of the Casimir-vdW force, it is currently more convenient to actually calculate the force based on other models which are more easily calculated and provide the same results.

The promise of using the Casimir-vdW force to tap into what amounts to a possibly limitless source of “free” energy has led to much prior art being directed towards harvesting and harnessing this energy.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,039 issued to Shoulders includes disclosure of an apparatus and methods purporting to extract zero-point energy through the use of charged particles in a “traveling wave device.”

U.S. Pat. No. 6,477,028 issued to F. Pinto discloses a method and apparatus for using the Casimir force to operate an engine composed of at least one movable “Casimir force-generating” boundary and relying on altering a physical value which affects the Casimir force-generating capability of one of the boundaries in order to cycle the engine.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,665,167 issued to Pinto is similar to, and derives from, U.S. Pat. No. 6,477,028.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,842,326 issued to Pinto is similar to, and derives from, U.S. Pat. No. 6,477,028.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,920,032 issued to Pinto is similar to, and derives from, U.S. Pat. No. 6,477,028.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,411,772 issued to Tymes relates to apparati wherein the Casimir force produces a spin or applies a torque.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,379,286 issued to Haisch and Moddel describes a system where a fluid “take[s] in electromagnetic radiation from the ambient surroundings” thereby purportedly increasing the electron orbital energy levels of the fluid components and then “release[s] at least some of said energy when the fluid is caused to pass into a Casimir cavity.”

U.S. Pat. No. 7,501,788 issued to De Abreu involves the use of porous lead and lead dioxide plates in “doped acid solution” in a battery arrangement and “integrates quantum capacitors.”

U.S. Pat. No. 7,567,056 issued to De Abreu describes “quantum generators” composed of internal and external shells held either “in tension” or “in compression” states and “quantum generators” similar to those described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,501,788.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,149,422 issued to Pinto describes a system and method utilizing the variation of dispersion forces (van der Waals forces) to change the separation between surfaces.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,174,706 issued to Pinto is similar to U.S. Pat. No. 8,149,422.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,317,137 issued to Cormier describes articles purportedly “for directly generating a lateral or transverse Casimir force.”

U.S. Patent Application No. 20100201133 by Mesler describes a transducer connected to an “arm rotatably coupled to the substrate.”

U.S. Patent Application No. 20110073715. by Macaulife describes an allegede “propellantless propulsion system” which supposedly extracts energy from “naturally occurring vacuum fluctuations” using “high-polarizability nanoparticles” formed into “nanoantennas.”

U.S. Patent Application No. 20120187872. by Camacho de Berm dez describes devices that purport to “attract and and store energy contained in a quantum vacuum” which are comprised of, among other items, “hybrid ceramic magnets,” metal plates, and a “linear particle accelerator.”

The devices and mechanisms described in the prior art given above are plagued with problems. Many contain devices for which there simply is no economical method to manufacture. Many would produce miniscule amounts of power at a relatively enormous cost. And, in several instances, the envisioned devices simply could not work based upon what is now known of Casimir-vdW forces (often ignoring the electromagnetic behavior, usually including the absorbance spectra and spectral dielectric response, of real materials).

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides for practical devices that exploit Casimir-vdW forces to accelerate a fluid through the device and exhaust it with a higher energy than that with which it entered the device. These devices do so by creating a gradient in the Casimir-vdW forces felt by the fluid inside of the device. The exhausted fluid may be used to do work, such as to spin a turbine, or to provide thrust for propulsion.

This force gradient is created through two means, geometrically or by a gradient in the electric permittivity and/or magnetic permeability of at least one boundary. These means may be used either solely or in combination to create the force gradient. Furthermore, this force gradient may be either continuous or discontinuous, linear or exponential in progression of magnitude, and include a change in polarity (sign change).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

The foregoing aspects and others will be readily appreciated by the skilled artisan from the following description of illustrative embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a section of a multi-layer permittivity gradient zero-point power (or propulsion) unit (“ZPU”) wherein the permittivity gradient is formed by varying the doping concentration and depth (shown by dots in the drawing) of a boundary along the axis of fluid flow.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view taken from FIG. 1 wherein a clearer view of the Casimir-vdW force generating structure is shown. The gradient in the concentration of dopant, which creates a gradient in the electric permittivity of the material, is more readily apparent.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a ZPU in which the force gradient is formed geometrically.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of a ZPU in which the force gradient is formed geometrically and a material is incorporated which pushes the fluid forward after the fluid passes the throat of the channel (narrowest point of constriction) where the peak Casimir-vdW forces would normally exist.

FIG. 5 illustrates a system wherein a ZPU is utilized to spin a turbine.

FIG. 6 illustrates a system wherein two ZPUs are utilized to create direct thrust propulsion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Before the invention is described in detail, it is to be understood that, unless otherwise indicated, this invention is not limited to particular embodiments, materials, and processes, as such may vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for purposes of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting.

As used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

In this specification and the appended claims, reference will be made to a number of terms that shall be defined to have the following meanings:

The terms “optional” or “optionally” mean that the subsequently described feature or structure may or may not be present, or that the subsequently described event or circumstances may or may not occur, and that the description includes instances where a particular feature or structure is present and instances where it is not, or instances where the event or circumstances occurs and instances where it does not.

The term “electromagnetic” means pertaining to or involving the electromagnetic force, or its electric or magnetic aspects.

The term “permittivity” means the relative permittivity, also known as the dielectric constant, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

The term “permeability” means the relative magnetic permeability unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

The term “Casimir-vdW forces” means the forces arising from the electromagnetic dipole interactions, from the differences in quantum vacuum fluctuations between or around certain boundaries, and/or from the retardation effects arising from the finite speed of light. These forces are known under a variety of names, including: Casimir, Casimir-Polder, Lifshitz, Casimir-Lifshitz, van der Waals', London dispersion, London-van der Waals', and Casimir-van der Waals'.

The term “Casimir-vdW cavity” can mean either, based upon the context, the space between physical boundaries wherein Casimir-vdW forces arise or the structures comprised of both this space and the physical boundaries responsible for the generation of the Casimir-vdW forces.

Before embarking on descriptions of particular embodiments of the present invention, it would be beneficial to review some of the relevant theory.

Quantum electrodynamics (“QED”) postulates that the “vacuum” of empty space is not actually empty, but instead consists of a sea of “virtual” particles constantly popping in and out existance. This is allowed, according to the Uncertainty Principle, as long as the energy “borrowed” to create the particles multiplied by the time it is “borrowed” for does not exceed h/2π (the reduced Planck's constant). In QED, this sea of virtual particles is responsible for determining, among other things, the speed of light (in a vacuum), electric permittivity, and magnetic permeability. It also results in the small perturbations affecting dipoles which give rise to the van der Waals' forces.

Van der Waals' forces is the catch-all name used to cover several electromagnetic dipole-dipole interactions. These are forces whose strength drops off rapidly with increasing separation distances. However, at very small separations, they exert significant forces and play a very important role in determining a material's phase properties (e.g., melting point and boiling point).

Quantum mechanics requires that between two boundaries (perfectly conducting), the only virtual particles (photons in this case) that may “pop” into existance be those with a wavelength whose nodes coincide with the opposite facing surfaces of those boundaries. This coupled with the retardation effect which results when the separation distance of the boundaries is beyond a wavelength (which means that changes in the field cannot occur instaneously because of the finite speed of light) gives rise to a pressure differential from the sea of virtual photons in the space between the boundaries and the space outside of the boundaries. This net difference is what is called the Casimir force (or sometimes Casimir effect). Since both the Casimir force and the van der Weals' forces arise from the same source, the sea of virtual particles, and can be treated as the long range and short range limits, respectively, of the same effect, they are sometimes referred to as Casimir-van der Waals' forces.

It is somewhat useful, for a better heuristic understanding of the operation of the present invention, to treat the Casimir-vdW forces as arising from dipole-dipole interactions. A dipole, with a positive polarizability, will induce a neighboring dipole, also with a positive polarizability, to align with it in such as way as to be attracted to each other. The situation becomes more complicated when more than two dipoles interact and when dipoles of different polarizabilities interact in multiple dipole situations. However, in general, if a solid has a higher positive electric permittivity (this is a measure of polarizability applied to bulk materials) than a fluid (also with a positive permittivity), then the fluid will be attracted to the solid. The greater the differences in the permittivites, the stronger the attraction.

In a two boundary situation, such as a sandwich comprising a solid (1), and intervening fluid (2), and a solid (3), the Casimir-vdW force will always be attractive if the permittivites of solids 1 and 3 are equal. And, in general, the force will be attractive if the permittivites of solids 1 and 3 are either both greater than or less than the permittivity of fluid 2. However, in certain cases, where the permittivity of fluid 2 is intermediate to the permittivites of solids 1 and 3, a repulsive Casimir-vdW force may arise. Munday, Capasso, and Parsegian demonstrated this repulsive effect in a gold-bromobenzene-silica system in 2009.

While most work regarding Casimir-vdW forces is focused on the effect upon solid boundaries, the present invention instead utilizes the effect upon the intervening fluid. By passively creating a gradient in the Casimir-vdW forces exerted upon the intervening fluid between two solid boundaries, the fluid is accelerated through the cavity. In leaving the cavity with a higher velocity than with which it entered, the fluid extracts kinetic energy through the Casimir-vdW force, and thus, from the quantum vacuum's zero-point energy.

While the dipole-dipole model works well to give, a heuristic understanding of the operation of the present invention and acts as a good design guide, it is not very useful for calculating the Casimir-vdW forces within a Casimir-vdW cavity. Nor is this model very good for estimating the energy which may be extracted from a Casimir-vdW cavity. However, there are many ways of calculating Casimir-vdW forces. One of the more useful, and general, methods is to treat the Casimir-vdW cavity as being comprised of mirrors and writing the interaction energy in terms of the reflection coefficients of these mirrors. The Casimir-vdW energy between two flat, smooth dielectric plates (indices 1 and 3, respectively) with area, A; parallel to each other; separated by a distance, L; and with an intervening fluid (index 2) filling distance L, may be written as:

$E_{pp} = {\frac{h}{4\pi^{2}}A{\sum\limits_{j}^{\;}\; {\int{\frac{\; {^{2}q}}{4\pi^{2}}{\int_{0}^{\infty}\ {{{\zeta ln}\left\lbrack {1 - {r_{21}^{j}r_{23}^{j}^{{- 2}k}2^{L}}} \right\rbrack}}}}}}}$

where h is Planck's Constant, q is the transverse wave vector, ζ is the frequency, and the index j refers to the two polarization modes, TE and TM. The reflection coefficients, r_(2i) ^(j), are given by:

${r_{2i}^{TE} = \frac{k_{i} - k_{2}}{k_{i} + k_{2}}},{r_{2i}^{TM} = \frac{{k_{i}{ɛ_{2}({\zeta})}} - {k_{2}{ɛ_{i}({\zeta})}}}{{k_{i}{ɛ_{2}({\zeta})}} + {k_{2}{ɛ_{i}({\zeta})}}}},{and}$ $k_{i}^{2} = {q^{2} + \frac{{ɛ_{i}({\zeta})}\zeta^{2}}{c^{2}}}$

where εhd i is the electric permittivity of material i and c is the speed of light. The Casimir-vdW force is then given by:

$F_{cas} = {{- \frac{}{L}}{E_{pp}.}}$

Non-trivial magnetic permeability may be accounted for by suitable changes in the formulas for r_(2l) ^(j) and k_(i).

This model correlates well with observations when there is sufficient knowledge of the permittivity spectra of the two solid surfaces and the intervening fluid. If it is applied to non-parallel surfaces, for calculation purposes, the cavity may be sliced, perpendicular to the slope, into thin slices and the calculations done on each slice and multiplied by the cosine squared of the angle between the two solid surfaces. What is noticed in doing this procedure is that there may be a significant difference in the forces at the most constricted portion of the cavity from those at the least constricted part of the cavity. This lateral gradient will cause the fluid to flow laterally through the cavity.

This force gradient may also exist between two parallel surfaces when the permittivity and/or permeability displayed by at least one surface is not uniform. As with the case of non-parallel surfaces, the cavity may be divided into slices (in this instance, based upon permittivity and/or permeability differences) for calculation purposes. Although, in this instance, the cosine squared term may he left out since it is trivial for parallel surfaces.

It should be noted that this calculation technique of slicing the cavity into parts is not a precision method for calculating the true forces and energies involved, since it neglects the effect from neighboring slices, but it does provide a rough approximation since the forces drop off significantly with increased distances and angles. This model is somewhat useful for obtaining an approximation of the available power output of the Casimir-vdW cavity as a function of the initial fluid velocity (the velocity of fluid 2 as it enters the cavity). The increase in the velocity of fluid 2 is calculated in such a way as to account for the force gradient from one slice to the next slice and the entry velocity of fluid 2. These slice to slice results are then summed over the entire cavity to yield the kinetic energy increase of the fluid (via E_(kin)=½ mv²) for a given initial fluid velocity. This initial fluid velocity is then used to obtain the available power output of the cavity (by calculating how many “slices” of fluid per unit of time will enter the cavity).

These cavities may be linked together so that the fluid exiting one cavity feeds into the next in the series. The increasing velocity as an element of the fluid flow travels through this chain, or series, of cavities results in less pressure being exerted upon the cavity walls (assuming that the resulting channel is straight) as the fluid progresses through the channel in accordance to Bernoulli's Principal. This will hold true until such time as stalled or constricted flow is encountered as the fluid velocity reaches the local transonic/supersonic regime. This places an effective practical upper limit upon the operation of any particular ZPU. The ZPU should be designed and operated so that the fluid velocity inside of the Casimir-vdW cavity is subsonic at all times to avoid stalled or constricted flow through the cavity.

Furthermore, it should be clear that each Casimir-vdW cavity should be designed so that there is a net overall work done on the fluid, in the direction of fluid flow, by the force gradients within the cavity. In this way, positive kinetic energy is imparted to the fluid by each Casimir-vdW cavity through which it flows. This can lead to the accumulation of significant kinetic energy, and velocity, by an element of the fluid flow as it transits a chain, or series, of cavities wherein there may be several hundred thousand Casimir-vdW cavities.

Now turning to the preferred embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that, in the interest of clarity, the components of the devices shown in FIGS. 1 through 6 are not to scale and that often their relative sizes to each other are exaggerated.

FIG. 1 illustrates a section of a permittivity gradient multilayer ZPU array wherein the permittivity gradient is created by varying the concentration and depth of dopant 20 (shown figuratively by dots and small streaks) in a substrate 10 which has been patterned, on the undoped side opposite that of the doped side, in such a manner as to create the fluid channel sidewalls 30 which also act as standoffs to maintain the separation of the doped and undoped functional faces of the Casimir-vdW cavities. FIG. 2 shows a cross-section of FIG. 1 and more clearly shows the structure of the Casimir-vdW cavities. When in operation, fluid 60 would be accelerated through fluid channel 40 by the Casimir-vdW force gradients created by the electromagnetic interactions between the undoped face of substrate 10, fluid 60, and the doped face with varying concentrations of dopant 20 as was discussed previously. The direction of flow of the fluid 60 in this instance is from left to right, as shown by the arrows. The increased length of the arrows on the righthand side compared to the arrows on the lefthand side denote the increased velocity of fluid 60 after flowing through the section of ZPU.

ZPUs as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 may be fabricated by a number of techniques. A practical and efficient method is to pattern one side of a ribbon composed of a thin, flexible substrate in order to create the fluid channel sidewalls 30. Such patterning may be accomplished by any number of means, including, but not limited to, impressing, photoablation, photolithography/etching, and masked vapor or atomic deposition. The opposite side of this patterned ribbon may then be doped, in vacuo, using ion beams projected through slit apertures and the doping concentration may be varied by varying the amperage of the ion beam and/or by varying the speed that the ribbon moves beneath the slit aperture. The depth of doping may be varied by varying the accelerating voltage difference of the ion beam. The resulting doped and patterned ribbon is then laminated together with other doped and patterned ribbons with their fluid channels aligned parallel to each other so that fluid flows in one uniform direction through the resulting array of Casimir-vdW cavities. In many embodiments, Casimir-vdW forces alone may be used to adhere the ribbons to each other.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-section of a ZPU in which the force gradient is formed geometrically. In this design, a dielectric 11 is coated on one side of a ribbon of flexible dielectric substrate 50. Dielectric 11 is patterned as shown in FIG. 3. One method of producing the pattern shown is to coat dielectric coating 11 with a short wavelength photoresist; expose the photoresist to an appropriately pulsed short wavelength monochromatic coherent light source, through an appropriate aperture and/or mask, at a shallow incidence angle to the ribbon as the ribbon moves beneath the aperture; etching the exposed photoresist and the dielectric 11 beneath it; and cleaning the patterned ribbon. Lengths of the patterned ribbons may then be laminated together to produce the complete ZPU array. In operation, fluid 61 is drawn through fluid channel 41 by the force gradients formed. The relatively shallow angle between the functional faces of the Casimir-vdW cavities on the entry side of the cavities leads to Casimir-vdW forces which are nearly equivalent to those for parallel surfaces. However, the relatively steep angle on the exit side of the cavities leads to substantially reduced Casimir-vdW forces. This results in a net positive work being done on fluid 61 as it flows through channel 41 as shown by the arrows.

FIG. 4 shows a design similar to that shown in FIG. 3. However, in this design, flexible ribbon 51 is coated with alternating dielectrics 12 and 13 in such a manner as to produce an alternating striped pattern if the ribbon is viewed from above with the long axis of the stripes perpendicular to the long axis (the,direction of fluid flow) of the ribbon. Note that in this design the stripes of dielectric 12 are wider than the stripes of dielectric 13. Dielectric 12 is chosen so that fluid 62 will be attracted into the cavity, while dielectric 13 is chosen so that its permittivity will result in fluid 62 being repulsed from it within the exit portion of the Casimir-vdW cavity. Thus, in contrast to the previous ZPU embodiments discussed wherein there are sections of the cavity where the fluid is actually decelerated some, in this embodiment as shown in FIG. 4, the fluid 62 is accelerated, in varying degrees, through the entire length of channel 42.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic for a system in which a ZPU module 100 is utilized to propel fluid 63 which in turn spins turbine 500 which is mechanically coupled to an electric generator 700 via transmission 600. It should be noted that, in the interest of clarity, pressure and fluid flow sensors have been omitted from the schematic and that the direction of fluid flow is indicated with arrows. Prior to operation, fluid 63 is charged into the system through fill port 1000 and valve 302 which is connected to valve 303 by pipe section 204. From valve 303, fluid 63 travels via pipe section 206 to valve 301. From valve 301, which can be used to control the flow of fluid 63 to ZPU module 100, and thus offers a means of turning the system off, fluid 63 travels via pipe section 207 to filtration module 400 wherein a series of finer and finer filters removes any particulates which may obstruct the fluid channels within the ZPU. From filtration module 400, fluid 63 travels via pipe section 208 to ZPU module 100. The ZPU contained therein accelerates the fluid which exits into pipe section 200, which also connects to a pressure relief valve 350 as a safety precaution should safe operating pressures be exceeded. Accelerated fluid 63 then enters bypass valve 300 which can split the fluid flow into pipe section 201 and/or pipe manifold 202. Fluid 63 which flows through pipe section 201 is directed into and spins turbine 500 converting a portion of the kinetic energy carried by fluid 63 into mechanical energy which is outputted via shaft 800 to transmission 600 which optimizes the mechanical energy output via shaft 801 for the operation of generator 700 wherein some portion of the mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy. Fluid 63 exhausted from turbine 500 passes via pipe section 203 to backflow preventer 320 through which it transits to enter pipe manifold 202. Here the fluid joins with any fluid which was directly diverted into pipe manifold 202 by valve 300. The combined fluid flow then goes to valve 303 where it once again enters pipe section 206 and the cycle is continued.

By adjusting valve 300 it is possible to give the fluid which cycles back to the ZPU module 100 a higher or lower velocity than that with which it previously entered ZPU module 100. This allows for a throttle-like effect as the higher the velocity of the fluid entering the ZPU, the higher the power output of the device (up to the previously discussed limits deriving from transonic/supersonic fluid flow problems). Valve 301 may be utilized to shut off fluid flow to ZPU module 100 thereby effectively turning off the system. Such a de-energized system (assuming that fluid pressure is allowed to drop below useful start-up levels) may be restarted by using generator 700 as an electric motor to spin turbine 600 which then acts as a pump and provides the necessary initial fluid velocity for ZPU module 100 when valve 301 is opened.

FIG. 6 shows a direct propulsion system utilizing ZPU module 101 to accelerate fluid 64 and exhaust it through exhaust nozzle 900 thereby creating thrust. In operation, fluid 64 would be supplied via pipe 210, ideally from a turbopump which itself could be powered by a ZPU system similar to that shown in FIG. 5. Valve 310 could be used to help meter the flow of fluid 64 to the ZPU module 101. From valve 310, fluid 64 travels via pipe section 211 to filtration module 401 wherein any potentially harmful particulates are removed. The filtered fluid 64 is then passed via pipe section 212 to ZPU module 101. in ZPU module 101 the fluid is accelerated to its optimum subsonic velocity and exhausted into exhaust nozzle 900 wherein the fluid's velocity is further increased. The exhausted fluid results in thrust which may be used to propel a vehicle or other object.

Fluidic ZPUs provide a practical means of tapping into and utilizing the energy contained in the quantum vacuum via Casimir-vdW forces. The ZPUs described herein do not consume fuel nor produce greenhouse gases while in operation. They may be produced by techniques well known or easily adapted by skilled artisans. Furthermore, certain embodiments are amenable to economical, large-scale fabrication utilizing currently available technologies and techniques.

REFERENCES

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I. E. Dzyaloshinskii, E. M. Lifshitz, and L. P. Pitaevskii, General Theory of van der Waals' forces, Soviet Physics Uspekhi 4 (2): 153-176 (1961).

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I claim:
 1. A device for the extraction of energy from quantum vacuum fluctuations through the exploitation of Casimir-vdW forces comprising: (a) a structure containing a Casimir-vdW cavity which while in operation contains, for some portion of time within some portion of said Casimir-vdW cavity, a fluid; (b) wherein a gradient in the Casimir-vdW forces exerted upon said fluid within said Casimir-vdW cavity exists during some portion of time during the operation of said device; (c) wherein said gradient may be continuous or discontinuous, may be linear or exponential in its rate of change, and/or may include a change or changes in polarity; and (d) wherein said gradient effects, or increases the rate of, the flow of said fluid through said Casimir-vdW cavity.
 2. The device of claim 1 when part of a series of such devices wherein the Casimir-vdW cavities of same are connected in such a way as to form a channel.
 3. The device of claim 1 when part of an array of such devices.
 4. device of claim 1 wherein said gradient, in whole or in part, is the result of the geometry of said Casimir-vdW cavity.
 5. The device of claim 1 wherein said gradient, in whole or in part, is the result of a gradient or change in the electric permittivity and/or magnetic permeability in at least one of the solid. Casimir-vdW force-generating boundaries of said Casimir-vdW cavity.
 6. The device of claim 5 wherein said gradient in the electric permittivity and/or magnetic permeability is the result of a compositional variation in said Casimir-vdW force-generating boundary.
 7. The device of claim 6 wherein said compositional variation is result of differing concentrations of a dopant or dopants within said solid Casimir-vdW force-generating boundary.
 8. The device of claim 7 wherein the doping of said dopant or dopants into said solid Casimir-vdW force-generating boundary substrate material was accomplished with an ion beam or atomic beam technique. 